Murder in a seafood restaurant: Mystery of shocking cook murder isn't lifted by an arrest

Joseph Huynh after his arrest on Sunday
Courtesy of Harris County Sheriff's Office

A 26-year-old Katy man is behind bars, charged with a mysterious shooting that took place inside a west Houston seafood restaurant as patrons enjoyed an afternoon lunch.

Joseph Trung Quang Huynh, who was arrested Sunday, is being held without bond in a Harris County jail for the murder of Julio Xocol-Panquim, a cook for B&D Seafoods at the intersection of Bellaire Boulevard and Sugar Land Howell Road.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office alleges that Huynh — who has several minor prior arrests — stepped through the back door of the restaurant around 3 p.m. on Saturday, shot the cook and fled on foot.

“Witnesses heard a single gunshot," HCSO detective Robert Spurgeon told KHOU Ch. 11. "They went back to investigate and found an employee who was in the back — shot one time to the head lying on the floor.”

Xocol-Panquim died at the restaurant, which has recently changed management.

Deputies interviewed customers for hours, but unearthed few details. Frustrated investigators went as far as checking diners' hands for gunshot residue. One individual in the restaurant was handcuffed and released a short time later.

Huynh's attorney Jerald Graber, who was appointed Tuesday, tells CultureMap he is unable to comment at this time.